1. Field of the Invention
With regard to the classification of art, this invention is believed to be found in the general class containing tools for applying a pushing or pulling force and more particularly to those subclasses pertaining to tools and methods for use with detachable vibratory railroad car shakers.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Detachable vibratory railroad car shaker apparatus are known in the field. Exemplary brackets for the removable mounting of a vibrator to a railroad car are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,733 that issued to Petersen on Oct. 10, 1961; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,431 issued to Matson on Aug. 26, 1969. These patents disclose a common type of separable male/female bracket arrangement. Usually the female portion of the bracket is attached to a hopper portion of a railroad car. This type of bracket is sometimes referred to as a Gardner or Tyler type and generally has C-shaped seat or pocket portion (i.e. a wedge, dovetail or the like.) The male portion generally may be characterized as a T-shape that has a blade member (i.e. male wedge, male dovetail or the like) and a reduced connector portion (i.e. web, neck, leg and the like) U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,733 also discloses a wedge shaped tool for separating the male portion from the female portion of the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,427 that issued to Heffinger on Jul. 14, 1998 discloses a powered means for insertion and removal of the male portion or half of the bracket into the female portion or half of the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,431 discloses a threaded means for retaining the male portion of the bracket in the female portion of the bracket.
As previously mentioned above, the female portion of the bracket is usually fixed to the railroad car by a suitable means such as welding and the like and therefore remains with the railroad car as it is moved to various yards, unloading sites or locations. Whereas the male half of the bracket is usually intended to remain at a particular site for unloading the railroad car. It can be appreciated that in use, the female portion of the bracket and the male portion may not be exactly mated because they come from different bracket manufacturers, car shaker manufactures and/or in fact one or both of the parts of the bracket may be worn or oxidized. It can be also appreciated that the vibrator action may in fact cause the male and female portions to further lock together. Many times the male portion of the bracket is an integral part of the vibrator housing. It is common practice for a railroad work gang or crew to attempt to remove the vibrator from the car by means of a heavy hammer. It has been found that the railroad crews have bent the wedge disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,733 thereby rendering it unusable for its intended use. If the crew is unsuccessful in removing the vibrator from the car, the vibrator will then travel with the railroad car to a new location. The work gang or crew may or may not have a spare vibrator to attach to another railroad car to be unloaded. The work gang may never see the vibrator again. Any permanent loss of the vibrator results in a loss of inventory and money. Permanent or temporary loss of a vibrator requires that spare vibrators be on hand thereby adding to operating costs. It has been determined that there is still a need to provide a tool that is useable with various combinations of male bracket portions and female bracket portions. The desired tool must be easy to use and perform the function for which it has been made. The needed tool must also be economical to manufacture. The present invention provides such a tool and satisfies the identified need.